Well here's the story I was inspired to start after submitting an OC to PichuAuraGuardian's story, Pokemon: League of Ultimates. This story expands on Tara's origins, and tells us what happened after her defeat in the tournament.
Warning: If you haven't read League of Ultimates, I suggest you do that before reading this story.
Tara strode through the forest, distracted, as usual, by the trees and Pokemon around her. She stopped to admire a tall Pecha bush when a rustling in the leaves caught her attention.
"Is someone there?" she called softly. When no reply came, she shrugged, allowing her mind to drift to other things.
Things like today's battle.
Tara clenched her fist. How dare that upstart kid beat her! He thought he was so cool with his stupid talking Octillery. The thought made Tara want to gag.
The rustling came again, and Tara could tell it was closer. She diverted her attention to the sound, before releasing her Palpitoad from its pokeball.
"Palpitoad, be a dear and use Mud Shot toward that patch of grass" she ordered. Palpitoad nodded, preparing to launch a blast of mud at the spot.
"Wait!" a voice cried. "Don't shoot!"
Tara held her hand out, signaling for Palpitoad to stop. "Who are you?"
Out of the bushes came a boy a few years younger than her. "Please don't hurt me, miss. I was bored, so I decided to watch you."
Tara's face tinged red. This kid had been following her around?
"Well, it's not nice to follow people" she replied, in stead.
"You're pretty" the boy responded. "Err... I mean, you're right! I'll leave you alone now."
Tara turned and resumed walking, knowing that the boy was still watching her.
"Since you're not going to leave, can I ask your name?" Tara called after a few minutes. The boy emerged, blushing at having been caught again.
"My name is Gustavos, but everyone calls me Gust" the boy admitted. "I'm a flying-type fanatic, just like my sister, Skyla."
Tara raised an eyebrow. "Skyla the Unova Gym Leader is your sister?"
Gust nodded proudly. "We came here with the Nimbasa Gym Leader, Elesa 'cuz she and Skyla are friends. Elesa is here for some modeling thing, and she had two extra plane tickets, so I guess I'm just lucky."
Tara frowned. "Why aren't you with them, then?"
Gust's eyes fell. "To tell you the truth, Skyla's been really pushy lately, so I ran away!"
Tara was surprised. "You meaan you're out here on your own?"
Gust shook his head. "I've got my Pokemon with me, and I'm thirteen, so I'm not THAT unprepared." His eyes widened. "Hey! Maybe you and I could have a battle!"
Tara shrugged. "Okay, why not? Where should we battle?"
Gust gestured to a small meadow nearby. "That spot looks nice."
They made their way over to check out our possible arena. It was an open meadow with small yellow flowers and beautiful green grass. Tara nodded. "It's perfect."
The two trainers stood on opposite sides of the field, facing off for a two-on-two battle. Tara pulled out her pokeball and tossed it. "Banette, Arial Counter Strtegy phase one, part one!"
The Ghost-type Pokemon materialized, glaring at Gust spitefully. Gust grinned, lifting his pokeball.
"Murkrow, to the skies!" he called, throwing the ball. In a flash, the Crow Pokemon appeared.
Tara gritted her teeth. Murkrow was a Dark-type, so she couldn't rely on Ghost moves here. No matter; Banette had plenty of attacks in its arsenal.
"You can have the first move" she called. The number one rule that Master Young had taught her was never to take the first move if she could help it. Intercepting an opponent's first attack could decide the entire outcome of the battle.
Gust, obviously, hadn't been trained by a master strategist. "Murkrow, go in quickly with Night Slash!" Murkrow nodded, evil energy surrounding its wings.
Tara grinned. Of course Gust would choose a Dark-type move. This round was practically hers already.
"Banette, use Disable, then counter with Thunder!" She called. Banette nodded, raising its arms. A translucent wave of energy struck Murkrow, and the energy it was about to launch dissipated.
Gust was shocked at how easily his attack had been countered. "Murkrow, quickly dodge with Arial Ace!" Murkrow tried its best to move, but Banette wouldn't have it. A blast of electric energy lanced upward, easily striking the Flying and Dark Pokemon. Murkrow fell, heavilly damaged.
"News flash" Tara smirked. "Thunder may not be the most accurate attack, but its likelihood of striking is more than tripled against Flying-type foes!"
Gust's eyebrows furrowed. "You can still get one more shot in, Murkrow! Use Shadow Ball!"
Murkrow began to charge dark energy in its beak, but Tara grinned. "Banette, use Thief!"
Banette cackled, before racing in and grabbing the mostly-formed Shadow Ball.
Gust growled. "You can't just turn every attack against me! Murkrow, use Shadow Punch!"
Murkrow launched several Ghostly fist-shaped blasts and Gust grinned. Shadow Punch was a move which was impossible to dodge. He had tara here.
Tara, however, simply yawned. "Banette, return." A ray of light shot from the pokeball, pulling Banette out of the path of the attack.
Gust was now beet-red. "You can't just swap out in the middle of an attack!"
Tara smirked. "Unless it's no substitutions, I can withdraw my Pokemon any time I want. Go, Illumise!"
Illumise appeared in a flash, winking at Murkrow. Illumise was Tara's little flirt, and she knew how to get attention too.
"Illumise..." Tara sweatdropped. "This is a battle, not a blind date! Arial Counter Strategy phase one, part two!"
Illumise turned to her trainer and nodded apologetically. It flipped around and prepared for orders.
Tara decided to end it quickly. "Illumise, use Electro Ball!" Illumise nodded, forming an orb of energy at the end of its tail.
"Murkrow, dodge it!" Gust called. Murkrow attempted to lift off the ground, but its energy was gone. Gust watched sadly as it took a direct hit and fainted.
"Return, Murkrow" Gust muttered. Murkrow vanished into its trainer's pokeball, before the sphere was replaced by a Premier Ball. "Go, Tranquil!"
The Quail Pokemon appeared in an especially flashy display. Tara knew that Gust's plan would be to take Illumise out with Flying-type moves.
"Illumise, before it can do anything, use Volt Switch!" Tara ordered. Illumise nodded, heading toward Tranquil in a circular arc, first looping off to the side.
"Tranquil, blow it away with Gust!" Gust, the trainer, commanded. Trainquil flapped its wings, whipping up a powerful wind, but Illumise was steadfast, and managed to hit Tranquil before completing its arc back toward Tara. It reached her and instantly returned to its pokeball.
Tara nodded. "Great job, Illumise. Banette, Phase two, part one!" she threw her pokeball, and Banette reappeared.
Gust shook his head in wonder. "I'm impressed. Your Pokemon are always moving, and it's dizzying to try and keep track of them. I don't know how you do it!"
Tara grinned. "It's not easy, but it's worth it! Now, give me your best shot!"
Gust nodded. "Tranquil, use Sky Drop!" His Pokemon quickly zoomed toward Banette. Surprisingly, Tara made no commands as Tranquil scooped its opponent up with its talons. The two skyrocketed upward, and Tara started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Gust asked.
Tara pointed up. "Have you noticed what Banette is holding?" Gust looked up to see Banette waving at him.
In its hand was the Shadow Ball which Murkrow had launched earlier.
"No way" Gust paled. "That's the same technique you used in the tournament with Probopass's Smack Down!"
Tara nodded, signaling Banette, who slammed the orb into Tranquil's face, stunning it for a moment.
"Now, Banette, force it downward!" Tara called. Banette pushed with ghostly energy, sending Tranquil plumetting downward.
Just before they hit, Banette broke off, and Tranquil slammed into the ground, unconscious.
Gust simply stared for a moment at his downed Pokemon, before returning it to its Premier Ball. He strode over to Tara.
"That was amazing" he commented. "I wasn't able to predict any of your attacks! Guess that guy in the tournament won on sheer dumb luck."
Tara nodded. "That was the first tim I've been beaten since I was defeated by Ruby, back when I was part of Team..." she broke off. "Never mind. What do you say we head back to the Tournament?"
Gust nodded. "I'm probably going to say 'hi' to the winners, so I'll go on ahead." With that, he took off into the foliage.
-X-
That night, Tara lay in bed at the Pokemon Center, thinking about the day's events.
"Pretty intense, wasn't it?" a voice asked from the direction of the window. Tara sat up in alarm to see a man in a blue cape perched on her window sill.
"Gemini" she hissed, covering her under-clothed body with blankets. "Don't you ever use a door?"
The man shook his head. "Not usually. And I've asked you to call me Gem, Tara." He slid over so that he was sitting next to her on the bed. "Can't you honor your boyfriend's wishes?"
Tara squirmed as he touched her shoulder. "You know we're not together, Gem. That was just a front."
Gem sighed. "True, but we both know we want it to be real, don't we, Miss Zeph?"
Tara squirmed harder as Gem leaned even closer. "Couldn't you at least wait for me to get dressed before you try to get all cuddly? This is making me uncomfortable."
Gem grinned. "Oh, you think that because I'm an Aura Guardian, I have to be all chivalrous and modest? Not likely."
Tara grinned. "You're the worst knight ever."
Gem grinned. "I knew I could get you to like my visits; and I love it when your aura goes all pink like that."
Tara flushed as pink as she felt her aura must be. "I thought peoples' auras were supposed to be blue?"
Gem shook his head. "If you're more on the emotional side of the scale, you can sense the colors of peoples' auras. They change with our moods."
"So then what is my mood right now?" Tara asked teasingly."
"Pleasure" Gem replied. "You're feeling flattered, but I can tell you're trying to cover it up. It's gone all violet now."
Tara shook her head. Gem was the only person who could penetrate her slightly distant calculating strategist persona. She hated it, but they'd known each-other from childhood, so it wasn't difficult for him.
Gem stood. "I have to go now. Zorua hates it when I have him creating an illusion for too long."
"Why? What's he posing as?"
"A cat burglar" Gem replied. "He's keeping the night watch's attention while I sit here. Technically, it's illegal for me to be in your room with you alone."
Tara grinned. "I wonder why."
Gem tried to lean in for a kiss, but Tara smacked him. "Go on, Romeo. We've got a tournament to watch tomorrow."
Gem nodded, leaning back and falling out the window. Tara wasn't worried. Gem was a master of thrills. His symbolic Aura Guardian uniform was enhanced with all sorts of features, like a cape that was specially engineered to catch air and act like a parachute. Gem would be fine.
Tara turned toward the dresser, pulling on some nightclothes, in case Gem made another mysterious appearance. She then made her way back to bed and fell asleep.
Yeah, I know what you're thinking. That last bit got a bit lovey-dovey for a Pokemon story, but these two aren't ten-year-olds. Don't worry, Tara wont be nearly as friendly to Gem from this point on.
So, that's it. I hope PichuAuraGuardian is reading this. It's nowhere near as good as your story, but I do what I can.
Brownie points: Anyone who wants to take a guess at what Tara was about to say to Gust after their battle gets 100 virtual brownie points.
Even Fire and Ice have a Dark side...